


Exeunt, Lightning

by cancerthecrabbo



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Episode Tag, Exhaustion, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Enter Flashtime, Post-Episode: s04ep15 Enter Flashtime, So He Gets One!, Very Slight Hallucinations, soft vibes, they are adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 02:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14251563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cancerthecrabbo/pseuds/cancerthecrabbo
Summary: Barry may be a meta-human, but even he needs time to recuperate.





	Exeunt, Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> i am a writing machine. i've been pumping out so many H/C fics. all because i've compiled a list of H/C prompts that i love. here's one i simply put down as 'recuperating'. basically, it's a post-canon injury, but it's flexible. i just love enter flashtime.

_Run._

_Don’t stop._

_Run, Barry, Run._

 

A vague sensation of panic filled Barry to the brim until it leaked over his cheeks and sprung up from his pores.  Sweat coated his body but it did nothing to bring down his temperature.  Tears of true exhaustion, of a tiredness he’d never known and will never know this intimately again, trickled over his skin.

 

The room around him looks like it’s melting for a second before he blinks and remembers the bomb is no longer a threat. 

 

Joe and Cisco had carried him through a breach to STAR Labs, where Caitlin is now treating him.  Iris doesn’t move an inch from his side, for which he is grateful, because the more rational part of Barry knows if he doesn’t have contact with her for more than a minute, he will slip back into the mindset.

 

_Run. Don’t stop._ The worst one: _Run, Barry, Run._   It carries hope with it.  _Run, Barry, Run._   It means they are behind them, 100%, all of their plans resting on his back.  He can’t live without being a hero, because Barry Allen is the Flash and the Flash is Barry Allen.  That is a constant.  He must be a hero, and he must save them, or else something is so deeply wrong it could only be the universe collapsing around him.

 

Caitlin hands Iris a towel that is wet and, against his skin, steaming.

 

A stream of _You’re okay, you’re okay, we’re okay, the bomb is gone, it’s gone, just rest, you saved us Barry_ runs through his mind.  He realizes, suddenly, that it’s actually Iris murmuring quietly to him, reassuring him that the world wasn’t literally melting and falling apart.

 

But his leg twitches and vibrates so hard he nearly tears the sheets under him because it’s a reflex.  Barry has to keep going that fast or else— or else—

 

Iris’s lips touch down on his forehead and then pull away a millimeter so she can keep talking.  Her voice is like the balm that Caitlin ever-so-carefully applies to the parts of his skin that reached past blistering temperatures.  Barry’s leg stops as soon as it started because as it turns out, he barely has the energy to stay awake and that little stunt caused his eyes to slip shut.  He was gone under the waves of dizziness and exhaustion in seconds.

 

* * *

 

There’s no heart monitor but there is the rustling of an IV bag being replaced.  It’s done quickly, so Caitlin’s practiced hands must be working.  It’s quiet, but the slight presence of other life surrounds Barry.  He can somewhat recognize them at this point and he can distinguish Joe and Iris the best.

 

Pressure builds and begins to press against the inside of his chest so hard that he must take a deep breath for it to let up for a second and he’s sitting up so quickly he almost forgets why.  But the desperation to see them, and not the burnt remains of his absolute failure, is so strong that his eyes snap open.  Blinding light makes his humming-bird heart stop for a second before he slides off the sheets.  The IV tugs on his elbow, so Barry tugs back, and the stand comes with him.  Caitlin gives a cry of surprise, which causes a chain reaction of exclamations that would be funny if Barry wasn’t so terrified.

 

“Bomb,” he whispers, because his throat is ruined, his voice is tattered, “Iris.  I have to…”  He trails off because a sob clogs up his chest and escapes violently.  The moment Barry lets it go he falls to the floor.  His knees hit the ground and it’s blessedly cool— cool— cool means not hot, means the absence of heat, means the bomb is gone.  But Barry thinks he might be dead – or having an anxiety attack – or maybe the world really is still burning. 

 

The world may not be burning but it feels like it, and it’s definitely greying at the edges, and he can breathe but it hurts.  Something sharp sinks into his neck, causing Barry to sink into Joe’s arms.

 

* * *

 

The next time Barry can open his eyes, he can think more clearly.  He’s exhausted, but he’s not dead, and the cool color scheme of the Cortex meets his desperate eyes.  Iris is sitting on the mattress with an arm around Barry’s shoulder so that his cheek rests perfectly on the side of her belly. 

 

She’s alive, and so warm, and breathing.  Which means he didn’t fail.  His eyes aren’t soup in his own skull and he’s alive.  He didn’t fail – not this time.

 

“Iris,” he murmurs, “Iris.”  There’s nothing else to say.  He can faintly hear her heartbeat from where he leans against her.  The soft beeping of the computers in the other room are comforting in their familiarity. 

 

She looks down, and there’s something in her eyes that make him fall in love all over again.  It’s always there, so really, he’s always falling in love with her more and more.  A mix of adoration and fondness and a deep comfort is in her eyes and a spark of what makes Iris who she is.  Her lips curve up into a gentle smile.

 

“Hey.  How are you feeling?”  Iris’s voice is soft. 

 

Barry hums and turns his nose into her body, breathing her in.  “Okay.  Better with you.”  It’s the truth, because what else would he tell her?  She’s his lightning rod.  He wouldn’t keep anything from her.

 

His body is still aching and he knows that using his speed is not a valid option, and won’t be for a little while.  But he’s okay with that because he’ll be back on his feet soon.  Until then, he has Iris and the rest of his little family.  Barry’s mind is hazy with sleep.  He gives in – this time with no hesitation.


End file.
